Place:
Ayala Center Cebu

Year:  
May 2012

Characters: 

                                   Philip (my 20 year old youngest brother)

    Cholo (7 years old)

     Derek (5 years old)

We just had our lunch inside one of the big malls in Cebu last year (my first vacation alone with my gremlins) when my youngest brother asked me money so he and my kids can play inside Time Zone. We were on our way to Dunkin Donut for a coffee (my dad is coffee addict).

I shook my head and said no. We can go after coffee. But he was insisting that he and the kids will be bored watching old folks like us killing time sipping coffee, talking.

Anyway, thirty minutes after, I was sipping my coffee with (baby Dean strapped with me) my parents when I noticed my brother wandering around not far from where we were.

OMIGOD!

My heart was thumping so hard that it felt like was going to jump off my chest. I didn't know how I told my parents that my boys might be missing without raising my voice. I texted my brother (no, he didn't came to us, I think he was trying to look for them on his own). I was really trying not to hit his head when he stood in front of me with his so clueless facial expression and kept on saying it wasn't his fault. He told me they were on their way back to us when Derek ran. Instead of running after the 5 year old like any responsible adult, he instructed my eldest son Cholo, who by the just turned 7 year few weeks ago to run after his younger brother and bring it back to him.

WTF!

Okay, I think this time I did knock his head. Mentally, he was already bugbog-sarado. I was so angry at him. My mom was trying to calm me down.

How could he tell my eldest son to run after his brother when he have no clue about the mall? This was their freaking first time in the place!   

Well, what should we do, right? We had to dispersed on different directions so we can find the kids faster. 

Yes, my head was swirling with crazy thoughts as seconds gone by. I had no idea how scared or scary I must have looked at that time since I can see people were staring at me. Was I turning into a crazy person? Was the line Irresponsible Mom Lost Her Children written with bright neon pen on my forehead? Should I care? No, what I wanted most at that was to find my kids back.

"oh God, is this really happening to me? I just gave birth six months ago and now I lost 2 his older brothers!"

"my husband is going to kill me when he gets I couldn't find the boys. will he leave me? how about Dean?"

I was talking and asking God how are the boys.

Were they together?

Will any crazy couple bring the two at their house? Then I remembered about group of people kidnapping kids and opening them up just to get their hearts, livers..

"oh God, oh God, oh God!"

Dean was sleeping so soundly while his mother was freaking out. 

Just then, I couldn't remember how long I was searching for them until, I heard my name on the speaker. It was choppy, so I wasn't able to get where to pick my kid(s) up. At this point I still have no idea if my boys were together or not, but what I am sure of the one who was calling my name was no other than Cholo. Because I kept on wrecking my head trying to remember if Derek knew my real name or will he choose the names he heard like;

• Mama
• Dedeng
• Tere
• Mama Bear

On our way home I asked Cholo what happened. 

Mama, bien kore gat si Derek (mama, Derek was running so fast). But I was able to catch him. *proud of himself*  Then I grabbed his hand and turned around. Nuway man si diku (but I didn't see uncle). So I looked around for guard and approached him. He kept on babbling things I don't understand. I waited for him to stop and said, "guard, our mama is missing."

School is over and vacation is just on the corner. I can practically smell the excitement from my hubby as the nearing of April 5, the day of our trip to Cebu. Can't blame him, he gets all the kicks and got hit all the time by my gremlins when sleeping in a bed that is too small for us. If only my children doesn't do martial arts while sleeping it, a 60x60 wide bed won't be the small.

I, on the other hand, has this mixed feeling of anxiety, excitement, fear, and all sort of things. Trust me, when you are traveling with children especially boys who are below 8 years old and active you need all the luck, prayers, miracles, and my Sanity-Savers Tip when you're inside a waiting lounge of the airport, ferry, or bus terminal.

1.  What Entertains Them -- My gremlins are different. PSP and cellphone can tame the playful Cholo. Derek is kind of tricky though. What keeps him entertained is constantly changing.  So I usually try to watch a week before what he usually is holding and remember to bring it with me or with him.
2.  The Power of Snacks -- I always have a bagful of chichirya. I also bring bottled water and other snacks so they won't getting of their sits.
3. Don't forget to bring an extra plastic bag -- I always have extra plastic bags with me. I used it as my mobile trash bag. 
  

How about you, mommies?

Derek's class is only half day unlike his older brother na whole day. Its expected that he gets bored in the canteen and I don't mind him turning the whole space his play area as long as he wants.

One day he brought back in the canteen's sleeping quarter secretly a kitten. At one glance you wouldn't even noticed it because it was covered with other dolls and teddy bears (when my parents moved to Cebu most of our family's old stuff were left here) on top of my cousin's sleeping bed. 

Before anything else, I need to say I am not a cat lover. Ugh! just kill me. 

Anyway, so I have this sudden itch on my arms when I saw the kitten (when I feel weird my body gets itchy). I don't want to imagine where in the world the kitten was staying before Derek pulled it out and turned into his playmate. 

Our conversation isn't English. It's a mix of Chavacano (our local dialect), broken and simple Chinese and English.

Me: Derek! how many times do I have to tell you that this bed is where your auntie Sha is sleeping! Don't bring anything that is dirty here. Please. That is dirty (pointing to the old dusty wall clock), that is dirty, too (to the kitten who by the way so comfortable snuggling in between the teddy bears)

Derek: But--But--He's my baby Budoy! I want to keep baby Budoy!

I turned around and before leaving I told him to take the kitten out and just play alone. But what I didn't expect was after five minutes was...

--Derek was all wet because he personally bathe the kitten using Sha's shampoo, cleaned it up using Sha's towel and now Budo licking its legs on top of Sha's pillow.

Derek: Mama, Budoy is clean. Can I play with my baby now?

 

Different people have different things to combat whenever they are down. Some would see themselves splurge with new shoes and bags, others would pig out with chocolates, ice creams, and food. I myself, though head straight to my laptop and go surf...yes, I even see myself either doing some Photoshop.

I was 30 years old and already a mother of 2 boys when I decided to learn how Photoshop works. It took me a month to at actually say I know the basics. Three months after I started to receiving requests to make posters for their stories in our fanfiction community.

Last week I searched in Youtube how to make small box for my bracelets.


I was literally drowning in self-pity when I kept on making the boxes, and as I moved on I was getting better and better and yes, I felt a little better emotionally as well.

Who would expect that my learning how to make small box would be therapeutic for me just a few days after?